Republicans worry that they could lose control of Congress if Gingrich is their nominee

The notion that Newt Gingrich is a loose cannon who could drag much of the Republican ticket down to defeat next November has some GOP politicians PLAINLY WORRIED:

Just a few months ago, Gingrich was an afterthought in the campaign. But his sudden rise over the past month has given pause to congressional Republicans who thought President Obama’s troubles with the economy could firm up their majority in the House and a new majority in the Senate.

The resistance to Gingrich’s surge is based on his reputation for unpredictabilty and a recognition that the success of Republican congressional campaigns will be inextricably linked to the party’s nominee.

One GOP strategist, Mike Murphy, this week described the potential of a Gingrich nomination as a “train wreck,” while Tom Davis, a former House campaign chairman, worries that Gingrich at the top of the ticket could be a drag on the party’s congressional chances, particularly in the Northeast.

Meanwhile, the National Review, an influential conservative journal, also has come out against Gingrich. The magazine SAYSNewt’s “character flaws — his impulsiveness, his grandiosity, his weakness for half-baked (and not especially conservative) ideas — made him a poor Speaker of the House.”

Another right-wing publication, the Washington Examiner, is ENDORSING Mitt Romney and arguing that Gingrich as “an ultimate Washington insider…is part of the problem, not part of the solution.”

5 Comments

So the man who played a very large role in bringing a Republican majority to Congress for the first time in over 50 years could possibly bring about its demise? Sorry, I don’t buy it one bit.

In fact, I’ll wager if you ask most Republicans who they would rather have as House Speaker between Newt and Boehner, they would chose the former.

Yes, the current Republican establishment (i.e. Weekly Standard & National Review) is throwing mud at Gingrich, but only because they want to promote their guy, Mitt Romney. Most of the Tea Party is already leaning towards Newt.

You can be assured if Gingrich does win the nomination, the rest of the party will fall in line, including most of the Ron Paul supporters. The last thing any Republican wants to see is Pelosi and her hyper-liberalism take back the House.

Neftali: I don’t know of a single liberal, including any in the Obama administration, who wouldn’t rather see Newt as the GOP nominee than Romney. I, for one, would be absolutely delighted. The man is a loose cannon. He would self-destruct before the end of the baseball season.